Traxxion Dynamics’ President Max McAllister was on hand at the WERA National Challenge races at Barber Motorsports Park last weekend testing a gas-charged fork cartridge system designed for stock forks. Vesrah Suzuki Team Owner Mark Junge took the first 5 laps on the new system Sunday morning on a 2005 Suzuki GSXR600 Supersport bike. Junge has served as one of Traxxion’s development riders since 1999. According to Junge, “We had a short rain before we got to the track, and the track wasn’t completely dry for the test. I tested the new setup at about 9 tenths, and pushed pretty hard where the track was dry. I have to say I am amazed that I really didn’t have any complaint at all about their performance. They seemed to be very fluid in their response. For a prototype, I have to say that they are at least as good as anything I have under my tent, to include the works Showa superbike forks we have on our endurance bike. I can’t imagine how good they will be once they are refined. Max only wanted me to do a few laps on them; he wants to take them apart, to make sure everything is safe and working properly. They will be shipped back to me for endurance testing at Autobahn before the WERA Grand National Finals. If they work as good at Road Atlanta as I think they will, I will definitely race with them there.” McAllister was extremely pleased with the first track test, and explained the evolution of this new component: “This is something I have had in my mind for years, and just lacked the resources to bring to reality. Since we acquired our own manufacturing equipment last fall, doors have opened that I never knew existed. We have always strived to provide privateers suspension components that performed as good as, if not better than, anything a factory backed rider has available to them. Early in 2005 we released our AK-20 Axxion Cartridge Kit which did just that. Topline Racing’s Chris Peris demonstrated that our kit can run with, and beat factory riders every single weekend. However, every available aftermarket cartridge kit is based on current technology; no suspension company has produced anything that has actually radically changed the basic internal fork cartridge design that has been available since the 1980s. Current fork designs are extremely crude when compared to a modern shock absorber. The idea was to build a component that was so vastly superior to anything currently on the market that factory teams would actually be at a disadvantage not to have it. By building a ‘shock inside the fork’, we will have accomplished this. To make sure it is legal for as many classes of racing as possible all around the world, we will use the complete stock fork casing, stock bottom fork bolt, and the stock fork cap. There won’t even be any visible evidence that the gas cartridges are inside! Everyone’s first question is, ‘What’s the hype about gas?’ A nitrogen gas-charged damping unit (oil and gas separated) provides a closed environment that is virtually free from contamination (unlike current fork systems), and will provide consistent, fade-free damping from the first lap to the last lap”¦even for endurance racing. It will also help simplify tuning problems related to hot and cold ambient temperatures that frustrate tuners and racers everywhere. I couldn’t have accomplished this level of initial success without the help of the staff at Traxxion. Two key people who deserve to share Sunday’s success are Chris Presley, my CNC Programmer, and Martin Musil, my Lead Technician. Anything I can imagine or scratch on a napkin Chris can bring to life. Once I was able to design and prototype the moving and functioning parts, Martin spent countless hours on our shock and fork dyno developing a valving setup that would get us in the ballpark. I would also like to thank the very brave ‘Mark Yeager-Junge’ for being the test-pilot! To be honest, we hoped and suspected it would work, but we realized it might fail. We feel very lucky that we got it working so well on the first try. Anyway, we have several stages of development and testing left to do prior to having a finished product available for sale to the public that meets our standards. We are absolutely certain they will be available and ready for sale prior to Daytona in the spring!” For for more information, contact Traxxion Dynamics at 770 592-3823, or by email, [email protected] .